How To: Increase Home & Business Safety with Smart Devices

We hear the buzzwords all the time.  Internet of Things.  Connected devices.  Smart TVs and thermostats.

There’s no denying smart technology is on the rise.  The worldwide smart home market is forecasted to be $53.5 billion by 2022.  The current estimated connected home technologies sales in the U.S. is at $1,485,000.

Smart technology can provide both home and business owners alike in St. Petersburg with peace of mind, convenience and efficiency.  We know it can be overwhelming to pick the right device for your home from such a crowded market.  And once you do pick the device, you still have to learn how to use it most effectively.

Below, our trained Pop-A-Lock St. Petersburg technicians give some suggested smart devices to improve your home’s or business’s security, and how they work.

Smart Devices For Increased Security

There are a variety of smart devices that can automate processes and help to increase your home or business’s security.  Some devices to consider include:

Additionally smart locks can help you control who has access to your home or business in a more secure manner.  With traditional keys, if you want someone to have access without your help, you have to make a copy of the key.  But then, eventually, there are too many copies floating around and your security has actually decreased.  With many smart locks, you can give someone a code to unlock the door.  This code can then be changed every so often, to make sure only the correct people have access.

Some smart locks even go a step further, and allow you to give out time-limited codes.  For example, you can give someone a code that lasts 15 minutes, or 24 hours.  Then that code expires.  This ensure people only have access for as long as you want them to.

Automated Light Bulbs

Setting light bulbs to automatically come on at certain times of day can also deter any potential thieves.  You could set your lights on a traditional timer, so they turn on and off at specific times each day.  Or, if you’d like to go to the next level, there are smart light bulbs that can be controlled remotely.  These allow you to monitor which lights are on in your house or business, and turn any of them on or off from wherever you are.  Even if you’re not there, if lights are on inside it will look like you are, which will deter those robbers!

Smart Doorbells

There are some pretty high-tech doorbells available today.  Many of them have video cameras built in, which is a great way to remotely keep an eye on your house.  If you’re away, you can check in every once in a while for peace of mind that all is still well.  If you are home or in the office at odd hours, and you hear an unexpected noise outside or knock on the door, you can safely check who it is before actually answering the door.

Many of these doorbells can also send alerts to your phone if motion is detected.  If someone is roaming around outside your home or business, you’ll get a real-time notification on your phone.  Then you can open up the app, check the camera footage and make sure everything is safe.  If something is wrong, you can call emergency services faster than if you don’t know something is wrong until you get home later.

Smart Garage Doors

Garage doors with the right technology can also provide increased security for your home or business.  Some smart garages will also alert you of motion detected.  Again, even if you are not home or inside the  business, you can check on the app what the motion was.  If it is someone or something suspicious, you can alert the police sooner.

Security Systems With Connected Cameras

Security systems with connected cameras let you keep an eye on your home or business while you’re away.  These smart cameras allow you to check areas like your living room, backyard, office space – anywhere you set one up.  And, they allow you to do this any time, anywhere.

Some systems will even assign dates and times to its footage.  So, say you get an alert on your phone at 3am that motion is detected in your backyard.  You can go back later and check the footage from 3am to see what the motion was.  And, many of these systems can be accessed from mobile devices, so you don’t have to be at a computer to check.

Another great possible feature of these smart security systems is setting virtual boundaries.  You could set one, for example, to go a certain distance around your home or specifically around an area of your office that needs added security.  If that boundary is breached, you’ll be alerted.